Here we are not yet 24 hours after the announcement by President Obama last night about the killing of Osama bin Laden by Navy Seals and it already has trickled down to controversy concerning views of the incident by a Steelers player. Steelers running back Rashard Mendenhall has taken to Twitter to share his views on the incident and it is causing shock waves and backlash throughout Steeler Nation.

In the latest remarks by Mendenhall on the social media giant, Mendenhall tweeted, “What kind of person celebrates death? It\’s amazing how people can HATE a man they have never even heard speak. We\’ve only heard one side…” and followed it up with a response to another Twitter user saying, “I\’m not convinced he was even behind the attacks we have really seen no evidence to prove it other than the gov telling us” and continuing on with “We\’ll never know what really happened. I just have a hard time believing a plane could take a skyscraper down demolition style”

We live in a great country that gives us the freedom to voice our own opinions. It is what makes America so great. The freedom of speech is a freedom that should never be taken lightly. I do not agree with the views of Mendenhall and am willing to bet that several in Steeler Nation do not as well. Mendenhall is not a stranger to making his voice heard on the social media giant with controversial remarks a short time ago when the lockout was about to begin, he agreed with remarks made by Vikings running back Adrian Peterson that compared the NFL labor situation to slavery. Those tweets caused quite a stir in the sports world as well, let alone Steeler Nation.

The beliefs of Mendenhall are his beliefs and I respect that as a whole, not that I agree with them. My only wish is that he stops trying to profess those beliefs in 140 characters or less. He should use a bigger platform so that everyone can get his entire way of thinking instead of short sentences. There is no shortage of Pittsburgh media that would be willing to sit down with him to get his complete thoughts on the bin Laden killing and further religious thoughts or conspiracy theories. Maybe he will. In the mean time though, all anyone has to go on are 140 characters or less Tweets and many people are doing just that.

We have not heard the last of this for sure and I am afraid that the backlash by Steeler Nation will be a strong one. I have a feeling that this will not end well for Mendenhall this time around. Maybe I am wrong. The Steeler fan base is as loyal as they come. They are also a very forgiving fan base in addition, but you have to wonder how him speaking his mind on this subject will polarize him from the fan base. This will play out I am sure over the next week, but you have to wonder what the Rooney family thinks, should they go on what he has professed. Time will tell. God bless this great country and God bless our freedom of speech.

You may also like...

In a subtle way, I agree with Mendenhall’s Tweet. Who celebrates the death of another individual? I’m ok with the death of the Head of Al Queda, but many the world over could probably say the same about other people for their own reasons. Who likes Ben Bernanke? Who likes the CEOs of many of the big banks and Wall Street? Some could say these people have wreaked more havoc on the world than Bin Laden. My overall point is…Mendenhall’s Tweet is deeper than what you said 140 characters can say. I personally don’t think Steeler Nation will hold it against him nearly as much as Big Ben’s behavior has been prior to the 2010 NFL season.

greg

i’m not so sure about his conspiracy theories, but i certainly don’t disagree with his disappointment in how people are celebrating a man’s death. death is never – EVER – to be taken lately or celebrated. i don’t care who it is. instead of rejoicing, americans should be thinking carefully about what led a man to believe so fully in a distorted version of religion that he would be willing to cause so much death and pain. we should think carefully about our part in a world where people hate america for our excess and our luxury and our often flagrant disregard for others, or for the earth which we all share. i’m not saying Bin Laden was a good guy – i seriously don’t believe that – but that we aren’t in a position to be his judge and jury, and that it saddens me that we would be upset at a sports figure for speaking his mind about it. ridiculous.

Eugene Mannarino

Mendy a ass an don;t need him to disgrace Himself and the Steelers and their fans

Linda

Kudos to Mendenhal for saying what he believes,,,,,I dont agree with all but celebrating someoned death is so uncalled for

Ted

Mendenhall thinks that he is a little smarter than he really is. A little knowledge can be dangerous.

He has embarrassed himself and the organization. I will have a hard time rooting for him.

Jared Coglietta

He should blog about it. When he says something on twitter, he does not get the chance to explain it which leaves a sticky situation like this…

Manny

I’m with what greg said, completely agree with him.. and I will keep cheering for Mendy, voice of freedom!

Avoid Lloyd

Of course he can say whatever he wants. That doesn’t mean that what he’s saying isn’t moronic.

Sam

I also agree with greg but mendenhall is right to an extent also I think before anyone jumps his case for being non-patriotic they should take the time to do a little independent research on the events of 9/11 u might not be so upset….he makes valid points

Robert

When watching the announcement of Bin Laden’s death Sunday night, the images of people celebrating and dancing in the street at the news was all too similar to the images we saw in many Islamic nations on 09/11. While I am glad that this admitted terrorist is reportedly no longer among the living, this is a symbolic victory at best. The organization that he founded still exists, there are likely HUNDREDS waiting in line to take his place, and terrorist strikes will likely now increase as they seek to martyr Bin Laden as a hero. Not sure why it took until May to act on information that was reportedly received in August, so the timing of all of this seems suspect to me .. not that our government would ever lie to us … right???

As for Mendenhall and his comments .. he is a football player, yes … but he is also a citizen of the United States and as such has as much right to express his opinions as any of us. While I do agree with the fact that he should use a mechanism other than Twitter to express those views more fully, I will never condemn him for those beliefs … after all, the man is famous for playing a sport … in the grand scheme of things his political views have no bearing on his occupation.

TShort

As a Brown’s fan it is good to see some Steelers fans do have a brain. The rest of you will support your players no matter how stupid they may be. With comments like this from a player, it is very easy to side with the owners.

Eugene Mannarino

I agree he has every right to say what he wants as well as i to think he a moron and I will not be rooting for him as long as he is a steeler. I hope no one on his team has any one in the Miltary or lost Love ones in 9-11. Mendy if you want to concreate on anything tey holding onto a football. I for one was estatic at the Out pour of celebration sunday night.

SteelCITY

Mendy is doing nothing but speaking his mind.. I never heard him say that Bin Laden was a great person.. He was simply stating that the media molds popular opinion in this country not investigative reporting. I disagree with the twin towers theory but you’ll have to think about this.. Before we invaded Iraq what percentage of Americans were gun-ho? I’d say at least 90 percent.. and why was that? The media! Because they allow a story to outweigh the facts.. Did I celebrate in my front yard when this news came out .. No.. But I believe a bit of justice was served because I believe Bin Laden was responsible for the loss of innocent life.. On the other hand how many innocent lives are lost in drone attacks on foreign soil? Violence breeds more violence so this will continue until we examine the real root of this hatred and further evolve as a species…

Dave

Mr Mendenhall- Being born and raised in Pittsburgh(a real people town), maybe you should go to where flight 93 went down and look around or when you play in New York, go visit the whole in the ground which used to be the trade center. While you are there THINK. You comments let your alligator mouth out-do your hummingbird brain!!!!! If you really don’t know what happened on 9/11 tried reading. A lot of innocent and brave Americans gave their lives for YOU. We NEED to celebrate Bin Ladens death. No matter what you think or how you look at it, this event is a VICTORY for the freedom we have and want to keep. If you don’t believe that, I’ll personally buy the plane ticket for you to leave. Stick to reading the playbook. Its simple enough for even you to understand!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Eugene Mannarino

tHE TWIN TOWERS COMMENT WAS A MORNIC COMMENT AND LET HIM COME hERE TO NYC AND SEE RTHE SITE AND SPEAK TO ALL THE FAMILES THAT HAD LOVE ONES MURDERED. I FOR ONE WILL NOT ROOT FOR MENDY TO SUCCEED AND HOPE HE OFF THE TEAM WHEN HIS CONTRACT EXPIRED

Eugene Mannarino

I was wondering if any of his teammate have responded

GladImNotAStealersFan

I never knew Pittsburgh was such a hotbed of bleeding heart liberals! WIth the thousands of deaths directly attributable to Bin Laden and his stated desire to kill many more? Really? Can you imagine the impact of having him in custody? No one doubts someones right to free speech, but that doesn’t mean there won’t be consequences for speaking out. It’s one thing to try and speak out about a wrong, another to speak just to speak. Mendenhll is not Ghandi protesting a wrong, he’s just very confused. Maybe the Stealers can trade him to San Francisco, he’ll fit in better there. The soft life here in the U.S. has made it so easy to pontificate about this issue and feel no responsibility for your comments. I suppose Mendenhall also has an issue with Hitler’s death and doubts his contribution to the millions of deaths in WWII. Rashard, go join those crazies who protest at the military funerals. Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should!

Eugene Mannarino

It would not schock me to see him traded especially if it becomes a issue inside the clubhouse

Steve

While OBL’s death was a catalyst, I don’t believe that the outpouring of emotions on Sunday were solely about celebrating the man’s death. They were to celebrate the administration of justice for the thousands of people that lost their lives and for the hundreds of thousands that have had to sacrifice because of him (military and families of military for example.)

Note to Mendenhall. You are 24, which means you were 14 when this happened. You are a good football player, but I doubt you even know how to balance a checkbook. Please stop insulting the majority of your fan-base by implying we don’t think. You’re so young, you haven’t got a clue about the realities in the world, let alone the insults you’ve laid upon the people that defend your country, which gives you the freedom to be able to earn the huge salary you make playing a boys game.

Staff Sergeant Thorn

Congratulations Mendenhall your an idiot. I am currently deployed to Iraq for the third time and you can thank me for your freedoms by leaving pittsburgh before i return in august you cheese eating surrender monkey. Holy fucking christ i cannot believe that an individual of your caliber would make remarks like this. You have shamed my country and lives of lost service members and the families of loved ones lost since the U.S.S. Cole on 12 Oct 2000. Whoever gave you a mouth piece should take it back. Thanks no longer a steelers fan SSgt Thorn.

Joe Finnerty

send him packing. The steelers stand for much more than just football. It is embarrassing for me, born and bred in Pittsburgh, to have such a piece of shit like this on our team

Jeff

His death is called justice and i celebrate justice. As for the comments that say killing kim made him a martyr, I ask, were we supposed to just let him go? Or maybe you think we should have captured him alive and put him in prison so law abiding taxpayers could support him living out a nice safe comfortable life? Finally, why is it we are so able to empathize with these terrorists, but not the families of 9-11 and those who have died in the war on terror? Just using my freedom to express my opinion.

Jeff

By the way, with a name like his, his comments come as no surprise.

Cheryl Veldman

Make no mistake, I hated much of what Rashard said, but the thing about it is this: our freedoms are inviolate, including his First Amendment right to say what he believes. I think we should celebrate that – the fact that we have defended that right and continue to have it, not the death of our enemies.

SteelCity

Come On People don’t make this a racial thing.. the guy made his comments on twitter about people celebrating a death.. Now everyone makes it out to be an act of treason.. he most likely already regrets his comments .. If Big Ben got a 2nd and 3rd chance after sexually assualting a woman why can’t Mendenhall be given a chance to even explain his comments…. Stop with the ridiculousness and the “I’m more of an american than the next person” talk….. He’s not a criminal and is entitled to his opinion.. period..

Tired

SteelCity, We’d have heard about about it on twitter if he really didn’t mean what he said. He may well regret it (as many people do when they put thought into speech without engaging their brain),but I doubt he feels any different. He prbably regrets saying something obviously not well thought out, notwhat he said. That is the other side of this great country and our right to free speech. We\E can respond to someones free speech as we are also entitled to OUR opinion, though you obviously don’t think we are. There are consequence to one’s actions. Even if it is just speech. As was said above. Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should. I can jump off a cliff, but probably not a good idea as Mendenhall found out.

Bostonfan11

How ironic, 9/11/11, steelers @ Baltimore. Cant wait to see how the fans react!!! What a freakin idiot

If he regretted it he would go back on twitter and say so,he lost me and no longer will support him. I wish he would be shipped out

Kalan

Everyone needs to lay off this man for speaking his mind. Stop getting extremely angry about what he is saying and stop being shallow and actually think about the point he is trying to get across. And lets be real for a second, we are not celebrating justice, we are celebrating killing an individual. Think about how the news came out, “bin Laden has been killed” thats all we knew and we began to celebrate. And stop insulting his intelligence. I was 12 when it happened, but that doesn’t mean that i can’t possibly grasp life’s realities. I see why Mendy feels that we as a fan base don’t think because based on the comments i have read and what people said to him about his NFL/slavery comment we appear very ignorant. And what is with the balancing checkbook comment? Is it because he plays football? Someone seems to be bitter about the fact that he makes millions playing a game.

Eugene Mannarino

we ar celebrating the Death of a Mass Murder ,hope you still have your parents to chat with unlike some children who lost their parents at the Twin Towers. He has the right to talk but we also can express our opinions and when we chose to Boo him and root against him we have that right also

Chick617

I feel as though people who have no idea what they are talking about should just shut their mouth.. Clearly uneducated people can’t fake sounding smart.. Freedom of speech is one thing.. Stupidity is a whole different animal..

Just Me

Didn’t bin Laden celebrate the death of the occupants of the World Trade Center? And I wouldn’t mind being a millionaire slave.

julian trevino

just one thing, where were you in 9/11.

Eugene Mannarino

but he a college Graduate so he must know what he talking about. well mendy get ready for the Boos on 9/11

steve

Kalan you are a bigger idiot than he is.

Dave Bryan

People, people, people. Enough with the name calling, please. Say your peace and agree to disagree. I want people to speak their mind here, but please keep it respectful. Please. Thanks.

Ross

Can’t wait til you guys come to Indianapolis, you will see some real America’s!! We don’t side with Al-Qaeda in Indy!!

Taylor

I think it’s totally acceptable to celebrate this man’s death. Do you people not understand what he did? Do you all have no sense of nationalism? He got what he deserved and American people should be celebrating that we killed a man who has caused turmoil through out our nation for far too long.

Roger

Mendenhall does have the right to speak his beliefs, regardless of whether we agree or not. I just wish he used a forum that would allow him to fully explain his statements so we’d have an understanding of his mindset. A tweet doesn’t do it. Calling someone names because you disagree with them is not only childishly immature, it also makes it look like you have no idea what to say arguing against that person. In addition it is also disrespectful of everyone’s right to an opinion. Grow up.

Speaking as a Christian, I cannot accept the celebration of any person’s death. It is NOT acceptable behavior. Speaking as an American, Bin Laden committed a crime and should have been arrested and given a fair trial. That is the law of our land. Murderous revenge is neither a Christian or American policy.

But war is war and Bin Laden started this one. Live by the sword, die by the sword.

jim says

I would like to look at his point of view but I can’t get my head that far up my ass .

Melissa

As a proud Steelers fan…….. Who cares what anyone has to say. Bottom line is that everyone is human, we are entitled to say whatever is on our mind. Because he plays for the Steelers he should bite his tongue……..Yeah I think not.

So Preach on!

Lets be a little more focused on the upcoming season….Hopefully upcoming season…. Let the man be.

al

so, let’s blast rashard and not the racist bastard staff sergeant who posted here? you are a DISGRACE to the uniform, you coward. you should leave your post immediately. you represent our country and you spew this vile garbage? i feel for the enlisted individuals subjected to you. cretin.

doll

Al thanks for your post I was about to handle the so-called SSgt Thorn and I say so-called because I doubt if he is really in the military. He sounds more like one of those cowardly skin-heads or Nazi wannabes. No real soldier would ever use “Christ” in the same sentence as f&%#@ and no real soldier would call another human being a “chesse eating monkey”. Real soldiers fight side-by-side with their fellow soldiers and they don’t see color they see a fellow human being, a comrad, a brother for whom they would lay their lives down for. No I doubt very seriously if this imposter is a real soldier. He;s just a fool with a keyboard and not much of a brain.

Johnsontata5

Maybe Mendenhall should go play football in Iraq or Pakistan.

Tony__V

This knucklehead is a disgrace to the Steelers. He’s making a damn good living playing a game while demeaning the deaths of more than 3000 people a decade ago today. Somehow, bin Laden had nothing to do with 911?? I suppose he feels 911 was a zionist conspiracy and that muslims had nothing to do with those murders.

I’ll never watch the steelers again!

http://profile.yahoo.com/XXMHY5W6JJ7PEDUSEG3TOGCKKY Copterboy

Very nice.

If you enjoy our content & podcast, feel free to buy us a cup of coffee below.